Organic Maps

Google Maps is online-first, ad-supported and aggressively tracks location for ad targeting. Maps.me was once the leading offline OSM-based app but pivoted to ads and tracking after acquisition in 2020. Organic Maps was forked from the pre-acquisition Maps.me codebase by the original maintainers to preserve the privacy-first, donation-funded model. It is fully offline, fully open-source (Apache 2.0), has zero analytics, and is funded by user donations and Mozilla / NLnet grants. The trade-off is that turn-by-turn voice navigation and POI data are slightly less polished than Google Maps.

Yes — Organic Maps is completely free with no in-app purchases, no premium tier, no ads and no account. The Android app is on Google Play and F-Droid, the iOS app is on the App Store, and the project ships a PWA-style installable web build for desktop browsing. Map data downloads are also free (the OpenStreetMap data is Open Database License). The funding model is donations and grants — Organic Maps received funding from NLnet (NGI0 PET grant) and Mozilla Builders in 2022-2024.

OsmAnd is the most feature-rich OSM-based offline map app with deep customization (custom routing profiles, plugins, contour lines, OpenSeaMap nautical layer). It has a steeper learning curve and the free version on Google Play limits you to 7 map downloads ($14.99/year removes the limit). Organic Maps is simpler, prettier, and has no map-download limits in the free version. Use Organic Maps for travel, daily navigation and the common case; use OsmAnd if you are a hiker, cyclist or sailor who needs the advanced routing, contour lines or marine charts.

Yes — full offline operation is the entire point. You download country or region maps once (typically 100-800MB per country, less for compact European nations), and then routing, search, navigation, POI lookup and map rendering all work with the network off. Voice turn-by-turn directions work offline (the text-to-speech is local). The only feature that requires internet is the optional satellite-imagery overlay and the share-location feature. It is the most reliable offline-first map app available in 2026.

Organic Maps is the recommended map app on r/degoogle, r/privacy, r/PrivacyTools, in CalyxOS and GrapheneOS communities, and in OpenStreetMap-aligned communities globally. Expatriates and travelers visiting countries with poor cellular coverage (rural Asia, Africa, parts of South America) rely on it. NGOs and humanitarian workers use it in field operations where data plans are unreliable. It has 5+ million downloads on Google Play and is approaching 100K daily active users on F-Droid alone.